


Cabin Fever

by CleoClipper



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Het and Slash, M/M, Season 4 Rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-08 09:44:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3204677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CleoClipper/pseuds/CleoClipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, set in season 4. Pissed off that his sister is in love with the man that killed him, Jeremy decides to stay at his family's cabin with Bonnie despite their awkward history. Then Stefan came asking for a favor. Canon up until the middle of season 4. Please R&R!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New story with a new pairing! Give it a chance please! Let me know what you think :)
> 
> Everything is canon up until the episode where Damon and Elena sleep together the 1st time and will roughly follow the events of season 4.

"Please tell me you're not really saying what I think you're saying," Jeremy Gilbert nearly pleaded with his older sister. Next to her, a black-haired vampire scoffed.

"It's true Gilbert. Your sister digs me," he winked. Jeremy would've punched him if he knew he wouldn't die for it. But Damon Salvatore was a violent bastard that loved to kill people for his entertainment, which was why he was having a hard time understanding _why_ and _how_ his sister fell in love with him.

He should've known when Damon showed up at his family's cabin with the purpose of 'helping' him control his homicidal urges to kill his sister that there was a motive behind it that had nothing to do with his well-being. When he caught them kissing back in Denver, he'd been upset and hadn't failed to let his sister know just how he felt about her relationship with Damon. When she chose to come back for Stefan the night she went over the bridge, he was willing to forgive her lapse of judgment. How foolish of him to believe that he would never be in the presence of his killer again. And now the bastard decided to shit on him further by screwing with his sister.

 _Should've killed him_ , he thought vehemently.

"Jer, I know this is hard for you to understand but I really do love Damon," Elena said gently with a small smile in Damon's direction. "He's always been there for me when I needed him."

"I thought Stefan was the love of your life? What happened to that?" he asked incredulously. Elena looked away and Damon's smirk grew.

"It didn't work out. Obviously."

"I wonder why," Jeremy rolled his eyes. "You're truly an asshole Damon. Props to Stefan for not killing you yet."

"He wishes he could."

"Jeremy," Elena sighed.

"What? You don't think it's kind of fucked up that you were just with Stefan and now you're with his brother? The one that _snapped my neck and killed me_?" he retorted. He knew he hit a nerve when she flinched and Damon's smile disappeared.

"Watch yourself Gilbert," the rogue vampire snapped. "I wouldn't want to do it again to teach you another lesson."

"Damon!" Elena smacked him on his arm.

"You really expect me to accept this? He just threatened me, _again_!" Jeremy cried to his sister. "What the hell are you thinking Elena? This is the guy that killed me, tried to kill Bonnie, Caroline and _all_ of your friends! He's even tried to kill _you_ and you decided to fall in love with him?"

"It's not like it just happened Jeremy! My feelings for Damon have been there for a long time and they're real. They're the most real thing I've ever felt!" Elena said desperately. This conversation would not end well, but she needed Jeremy to have her back on this. Caroline had already chewed her out for making the worst decision of her life, as the blonde called it, and Stefan wouldn't even look at her. Elena understood that she broke his heart, but he hadn't seemed to realize that he broke hers first by treating her vampirism like it was the plague.

"So what are you going to tell me next? That you've been in love with Damon this entire time and that we've all misunderstood him?" the youngest Gilbert sneered at the two vampires. "I can't believe you'd even put me in this position Elena. Do you realize that if I hadn't been wearing this ring I wouldn't even be here because of Damon? I'm not just going to get over that because you want to sleep with him!"

"No one's asking you to do anything Gilbert. We're just letting you know out of common courtesy that I'm now the man in Elena's life and I'm not going anywhere. So you're just going to have to get used to me," Damon smirked at him with taunting eyes. Oh, how he loved to get under this kid's skin. It was so easy it barely took effort.

Anger surged through Jeremy's veins. The want to kill vampires exploded within him and he was grabbing the stake in his back pocket and hurtling it towards Damon before he could stop himself. Elena screamed as Damon threw her out of the way unnecessarily but the stake never pierced him. An invisible barrier stopped its path and it dropped to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Jeremy, stop!" Bonnie ran downstairs and pushed Jeremy by his chest to sit on the sofa. The hunter's fists clenched and unclenched as he took deep breaths in an effort to bring his insane murdering urges under control.

"Thanks Bon," Elena said softly from the other side of the room. Bonnie nodded once but didn't respond verbally. Keeping her eyes on Jeremy, she whispered mantras with him under her breath until he wasn't as tense.

"Thanks," he muttered to her. She squeezed his shoulder with a supportive nod. A cough had them turning to the vampires again.

"Wasn't aware you were still here, witchy," Damon's eyes narrowed on her and he smirked. "Trying to rekindle old flames?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "You're a creep Damon."

"Most normal people find me attractive. Of course, you're not most people."

"That's right. I see you for what you really are: a selfish, egotistical, self-serving, psychotic bastard that takes pleasure in killing innocent people," she shot back. "I'm not attracted to murderers."

Elena looked down at the floor again in shame.

"Interesting, considering your boyfriend over there just beheaded a vampire two days ago so he could grow his hunter's map for the cure," Damon sneered.

"Because Elena clearly needs it!" Jeremy hopped back up, angry all over again. "Look at what being a vampire has done to her! She's turning into you!"

"Neither of you might want to admit this, but Elena is more like me than she is like either of you. Vampirism doesn't change you, it only heightens your personality," Damon rolled his eyes. "If you don't like the way she is now, maybe that has more to do with you."

"The problem _is_ you Damon. The problem is that you force yourself into people's lives when they don't want you around until they have no choice but to tolerate you," Bonnie glared at him. "Caroline told me about the sire bond. You're using the sire bond to take away her choices and to make her believe she's in love with you!"

"No, Bon, this isn't the sire bond," Elena said gently but firmly. "I know what I feel and it's…it's something I can't explain. But it's strong and it's never going away."

Damon gave them a triumphant smirk. Jeremy glared back at him, hands twitching to get on another piece of wood to throw at him. What he wouldn't give to wipe that smirk off his face as he plunged the stake into his heart.

"Elena…how could you forgive him for _killing_ your brother?" Bonnie said softly. "How can you even look at him?"

"He's changed Bonnie! He's not that person anymore!" she cried. "I don't excuse him for what he did but he's shown remorse and he's apologized for it! Shouldn't he have another chance at least?"

Jeremy threw his head back with a loud sarcastic laugh.

"Why don't you ask all the people he's killed if he deserves another chance," he spat. "Damon is never going to change. He's only acting this way because he wants to sleep with you! Why are you so blind to that?"

"You both are so dramatic," Damon sighed with another eye roll. "Get over yourselves and quit bitching at Elena for wanting to be with me. She's your friend and your sister, so why don't you show her some support?"

"A good friend tells their friend when they're making mistakes," Bonnie retorted before she turned to the brunette vampire. "Elena, you know you're my best friend, which is why I'm telling you that being with Damon is the worst thing you could do to yourself. I know you, and you would never date the man that killed your brother or abused your friend. Remember all those bite marks we saw on Caroline and how scared we were that Damon was going to kill her? Remember when he actually did kill Jeremy because you told him you would always love Stefan? He has terrorized all of us and he hasn't apologized to anyone accept for you. He hasn't even shown a hint of remorse to any of us for anything he's done."

Tears started falling down Elena's face as she looked at three people she loved dearly. She knew she would face some opposition when it came to Damon but now she felt foolish for even thinking they might be alright with their relationship. The rogue vampire had done terrible things to all of them, even to Tyler and Matt who were barely around him. And he had done terrible things to her as well. But if she could forgive him, why couldn't they? And why couldn't they at least pretend to for her sake?

"I forgave him for those things. He's different now," Elena sniffed. "If you guys would just give him a chance—!"

"I can't listen to this anymore," Jeremy's lip curled up in disgust as he stood. "The fact that you said you forgave him for murdering me is proof of how far gone you are. If someone had killed you I would never forgive them, and I sure as hell wouldn't be sleeping with them. At least now I know where we all stand with you Elena. Glad to know you care more about a psychotic murderer than your family and friends."

"Jer wait!" Elena cried as he started for the stairs. "You know that I didn't mean it like that! You're my brother, of _course_ I love you! Just because I'm with Damon doesn't mean that isn't true! I don't have to choose a side!"

"If you really loved me Elena, you would've never chosen to be with someone that hurt me," Jeremy shook his head again. "I don't even know who you are anymore."

"Get lost Gilbert. If you don't like what you see, then leave."

"This is my house Damon, so you can have the honors," he sneered. "Don't come back either. Next time I _will_ kill you regardless if you're the love of her life."

"Jeremy!" Elena gaped as he stormed up the stairs. She went to follow him but the barrier prevented her from doing so. She turned to Bonnie with desperation etched on her face.

"Bon, please let me talk to him," she pleaded. She shook her head.

"I think you guys should go," she said quietly, nearly looking sorry for saying it. Elena felt a lump in her throat.

"I don't want to choose between you guys. I really don't," she pleaded. "Nothing has to change! I'm still the same person I was! The only difference is who I'm with!"

"The fact that you won't acknowledge why we're upset by this tells me you're not," Bonnie said quietly. Elena swallowed and covered her mouth to stifle a sob. Damon growled at her.

"Stop being a bitch and get your head out of your ass!" he spat. "Elena's always been there for you when you needed her. The least you could do is—!"

He cried out as he crumpled to the ground clutching his head. Elena was by his side in seconds, watching with fear as he cradled his head and screamed in agony. She whipped to her best friend chanting under her breath, olive eyes dark with anger and hatred for the vampire she had crippled.

"Stop!" she cried as Damon fell into her lap. "Bon, please!"

She wasn't sure if the witch heard her but she was relieved when Damon finally let go of his head and groaned in pure relief. Elena turned her watering eyes onto her best friend and she glared back at them.

"Get him out of here," Bonnie sighed as she started for the stairs. Elena calling her name made her pause.

"He makes me happy," she started quietly. "I know you guys don't understand that, but can't you guys at least be happy for me? I'm falling in love with him and all I want is for you guys to support me."

"I want to be able to support you Elena, but we want you to be sympathetic to why we don't want to be around someone that's constantly terrorized us. I want to be happy for you but I can't when you're choosing to be with the man that tried to kill me. I can't forgive him as easily as you can."

"It wasn't easy for me either. It's not like I just decided one day to forgive him for doing all the bad things he did. It took time," Elena snapped, finally allowing her anger to shine through. She could understand Jeremy's lack of support, though she thought he was being slightly overdramatic, but she was positive that she would've had Bonnie's support even if she didn't agree with her choices.

"It doesn't look that way from my point of view," the witch kept her cool. "Who you date is your decision but you have to be prepared for the consequences. If Damon is that important to you, then that's great. But you're going to have to live with your actions."

She walked upstairs before Elena could utter another word.

* * *

Jeremy stood under the near-scalding spray of the shower head in the master bedroom, trying his hardest to control his anger. Damon always knew what to say and what to do to piss him off and he wished, not for the first time, that his stake hadn't missed him.

He couldn't understand how Elena could claim to love that monster. Damon Salvatore was sadistic and cruel; what his sister could possibly see in him, he didn't think he would ever see. What hurt him more was that she was fine with being in the company of his murderer and not caring about how that affected him. The vampire still scared him sometimes, even though he did his best not to show it, and the last thing he wanted to do is be around the man that constantly threatened to kill him. Elena could've understood that at least.

He got out the shower after a few more moments and dried off with his towel hanging by the shower door. Steam flew out of the room when he opened the door. He pulled on pajama bottoms and sat on the edge of the bed to dry his hair with the towel in one hand.

There was a knock on the door, "Jer? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Sorry about earlier," he murmured as she opened the door. "I really tried hard not to kill him."

"Don't apologize to me. You know I want him gone as much as you do," she shrugged as she joined him on the bed. "I was mainly asking because of Elena."

He sighed heavily, "I don't get it Bon. I'm her brother and she chooses _him_ over me. Elena's never been this selfish. Being a vampire has changed her entire personality."

"Or enhanced it, like Damon said," Bonnie said quietly. "But you're right. The old Elena would've chosen you without a second thought."

"It's like…It's like that night she died on the bridge…everything good about her died too," Jeremy sighed as he fell onto his back, sinking into the plush blankets. Bonnie lay next to him and they both stared at the ceiling, lost in their own thoughts. She tried not think about him being next to her or about their arms nearly touching. Since being up here, they hadn't had an honest discussion about their relationship but she was wondering when, or if, Jeremy wanted anything to change between them. She wasn't sure she did, since she was still recovering from the low blow named Anna he dealt her but it wasn't as if her feelings for him didn't linger.

"I think the old Elena is still in there," Bonnie said softly. "It's Damon that's changing her, not being a vampire."

He covered his face with his hands and sighed loudly. Bonnie's cellphone ringing from the other room had her hopping up and running out of the room to retrieve it. Jeremy heard her answer and tuned out of her conversation to get lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh my—is he okay?" he heard Bonnie cry out. More alert, he walked down the short length of the hall to her room, which was the one Elena slept in. He watched with a furrowed brow as Bonnie paced beside her bed with a hand slapped over her mouth.

"Oh God," she breathed. "Where is he now?"

Jeremy watched as she paced more, answered a few more questions and became even more anxious before she finally hung up.

"What was all that?"

"That was Matt. Tyler's plan to kill Klaus backfired. He killed…all of the hybrids and…and Mayor Lockwood," Bonnie sat on the edge of her bed. "Tyler's mother is dead."

Jeremy felt his heart sink at the gut-wrenching words. He knew all too well what the hybrid was feeling right now.

He shook his head, "Poor Tyler."

"Caroline hasn't been able to find him. She's scared he's going to do something stupid, like try to kill Klaus," Bonnie sighed. "We should help her."

They dressed quickly, dressing warmly to face the biting cold outside. They hopped into Bonnie's silver Prius and drove an hour and a half from the lake to Mystic Falls. They met Matt and Caroline at Tyler's elaborate mansion. Both blondes were solemn, Caroline with red, watering eyes, frazzled hair and her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Thanks for coming," she grabbed Bonnie in a tight hug. She smiled at Jeremy over her shoulder and he nodded in greeting.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"When—when he called me about his mom. I met him there and—and he was just holding her and rocking back and forth and he was crying…I've never seen him cry like that. Not even during the transformations," Caroline sniffled as she let out another sob. Matt handed her a box of Kleenex and she smiled gratefully.

"After a while he put her down and he just…took off," she sighed. "I've tried calling him ten times but it's just going to voicemail now."

"He probably wanted space. Let's wait until morning before we start freaking out," Jeremy shrugged. "He probably wants to be alone."

"But Klaus is _still_ out there!" she cried. "He can't just be out there alone! He'll kill him!"

"Klaus also likes you Caroline. Maybe you could persuade him not to," Matt said quietly. "That Hayley girl was in on the plan too and he didn't kill her."

"Hayley isn't dead because she sold them out. She's the reason they're all dead," Caroline snarled viciously. "I _knew_ we couldn't trust her. I tried to tell Tyler that but he insisted on her staying, that little bitch. I should find her and kill her myself."

"She's probably long gone now," Jeremy sighed as he looked out the window. There was nothing outside other than the front lawn and the quarter moon illuminating the sky.

"We should focus on finding Tyler first," Bonnie sighed. "Jeremy and I can start by the lake and you guys can start in the backyard."

"Should we call Elena?" Matt asked before they could walk too far from each other.

Caroline snorted, "She's probably too busy with Damon to care about anything else."

Bonnie and Jeremy shared a look.

Matt sighed. "I love Elena, but I don't understand what she sees in him at all. I could understand Stefan but Damon is a psychotic freaky killer. What's attractive about that?"

"We're all still trying to figure that one out," Jeremy snorted, his stomach simmering with anger. Sometimes his sister made the worst decisions and it truly amazed him.

They split up into pairs as they started their expansive search for their hybrid friend. The air was biting cold as they marched through the woods, crawled over fallen tree logs and stumbled through thick brushes of the forest. After two hours and multiple frozen body parts, Jeremy was ready to call it a night.

"I don't think he's out here," he said through the chattering of his teeth. "Maybe he went back to the house."

"Maybe he'll show up in the morning like you said. Maybe he just went somewhere to be alone," Bonnie shivered as she held her phone in her hand and read an incoming message. "Klaus showed up at the house. He told Caroline he hasn't seen Tyler but that he's going to kill him when he finds him."

"So we need to find him first," Jeremy sighed heavily as he pulled the thick blanket he stole from Tyler's house tighter around his shoulders. "I think we should check back by those trees over there."

Another two hours passed with each pairing having no luck. Bonnie and Jeremy drove back to the lake house when they covered their area of the forest thoroughly, promising to help Caroline and Matt continue searching the next day. The sky was getting brighter by the time both of them climbed upstairs and fell into their beds. Their eyes fluttered closed within minutes.

* * *

Jeremy started to regain consciousness the next morning when he heard the front door open and voices in the living room. Stretching, he groaned as he rolled onto his back and tried to make out who was there. The bed creaked as he reached down to scratch his leg.

He heard footsteps coming closer and then a knock on his door.

"Jer? We found Tyler," Bonnie said. "Actually he found us. He's down here."

"Alright," Jeremy sighed. He waited ten more minutes before forcing himself to get up.

When he went down there was breakfast in the form of The Grill. Through the living room door that led to the backyard he saw Tyler sitting on the stairs holding a mug in both his hands with his head bowed. He was wrapped in the thick blanket Jeremy had taken from his house the previous night and he looked so small and fragile that he felt sorry for him.

Matt, Caroline and Bonnie were seated around the wooden table, each with their own plate of breakfast. Jeremy joined them, fixing his own plate with four pieces of bacon, two pancakes and two pieces of French toast.

"So what're we going to do about Klaus?" Matt asked when he washed down his bite of scrambled eggs with orange juice. "He's not going to quit looking for Tyler until he's dead."

"We could kill him again," Bonnie shrugged. "There's no Original vampire hunter to stop us this time."

"What would we do with the body?"

"Drop it in the ocean like we were going to. As long as that stake never comes out, it doesn't matter what happens to him," Caroline shrugged. "I say we drop him in the deepest part of the deepest ocean so no one ever has a chance of discovering him."

"Agreed," Bonnie nodded. "The only problem is getting close enough to stake him."

"We should probably consult Damon and Stefan, since they're stronger than all of us," Jeremy sighed. He loathed having to interact with his killer but Klaus was an even bigger threat to them all than he was. At least Elena could keep Damon in check; Caroline's influence only went so far.

"So when are you two coming back home?" Caroline looked between Bonnie and Jeremy. "Are you making progress with your killer vampire hunter tendencies?"

"I don't feel like killing you or Tyler right now so yes," Jeremy chuckled. "I almost killed Damon yesterday but he was asking for it."

"I personally wouldn't mind if you staked that asshole," the curly-headed blonde grumbled. "I don't understand what the hell Elena _sees_ in him. He's a shitty person who's done shitty things to all of us, including her, and she thinks it's okay to be in love with him? She's insane!"

"I feel like I'm looking at a different person sometimes when I see her now. She's so different from who she used to be," Matt said quietly. He was grateful for Elena living after she sacrificed her life for his but he didn't expect it to come at such a high price. The Elena he had been in love with since elementary school had died the night of the car accident, he knew that for a fact.

"Actually…I don't think I'm going back anytime soon," Jeremy said softly. Three pairs of eyes stared at him.

"We have school, of course you have to go back," Caroline scoffed.

"I won't ditch school. But I don't want to be in Mystic Falls either. I don't want to be near Damon at all. And if I stay with Elena, it's only a matter of time before we're trying to kill each other," Jeremy sighed. "I just think it would be better if I stayed up here from now on."

"That's true," Matt said slowly. "But it's a far drive."

"I'd rather make the drive than being around Damon. Hell I would make a five hour drive every day just so I wouldn't have to see him," Jeremy snorted. "I told him I would kill him the next time I saw him."

"Maybe you should stay up here then. We wouldn't want Damon to end up dead," Bonnie snorted sarcastically. "I'll stay here with you, so we can work more on getting your killer thoughts under control."

"You don't have to do that Bon," he said softly as he smiled at her. "Don't feel obligated to stay here if you don't want to."

"Truthfully, I don't want to go back to Mystic Falls either," she sighed. "With everything that's happened, now Elena and Damon and Tyler's mother and Klaus…I want a break from the supernatural. There's too much negative energy there and is messes with my magic," the witch took a sip of her herbal tea. "You should have someone stay with you up here Jer. Just in case."

"Good point," he chuckled. "Well you're always welcome, you know that. You all are."

"Maybe he should stay up here too," Caroline pointed to the huddled form of her boyfriend. "He shouldn't go back if Klaus is there."

"Klaus could just as easily come here," Matt reminded. "We're still going to have to kill him."

They finished breakfast and took time in cleaning all the dishes and the table. Caroline drove Matt and Tyler back to Mystic Falls in the late afternoon. Tyler decided to return to Mystic Falls so he could bury his mother and figure out his next move, despite his girlfriend's reluctance. He'd barely said two words to any of them, but they knew he was appreciative of their support.

He and Bonnie spent the evening making s'mores using the fireplace in the living room. Despite being in the dark woods alone, Jeremy found them a soothing change of pace from Mystic Falls. Out here, he could forget that the supernatural existed. He could pretend there were no such things as vampires, or that his sister had given up her soul when she became one, or that she chose to be with the man who killed him.

"Being up here is nice," she murmured as she slowly twisted the skewer. They watched silently as the marshmallow turned brown.

"It beats being home right now," Jeremy sighed as he leaned on one elbow. He gazed at Bonnie's back and bit his lip as he wondered if now would be the time for them to hash out their relationship. She had ended it and it had been his fault but were they ready to get back there? Regardless, there was one thing he did want to do.

"Bonnie," he started as he sat up. He waited until she was looking at him to keep going. "I…I'm sorry. About Anna. I never told you that I was sorry about what I did and I should've done it that night."

"Jer, it's fine. We don't have to talk about it," she said softly.

"No, it's not fine. What I did was shitty, and I don't even know why I did it. I wish I could change what I did but I can only say I'm sorry," he squeezed her free hand. She smiled and laced their fingers together.

"I forgave you a long time ago," she murmured with the bright smile he loved. "We don't have to talk about it anymore, okay? I know you're sorry."

"You'll never know how much," he gave her a small smile in return.

They fell asleep in front of the fireplace huddled together and wrapped in separate blankets. A knock on the door roused them late the next morning. Grabbing the blanket off the couch for warmth, Jeremy stumbled to the door sleepily and threw it open. The sunlight assaulted his eyes and he flinched before pulling back and holding one arm up to shield his eyes.

"Stefan?" he blinked when he saw the brooding vampire on his porch with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to see Bonnie. Caroline said she was here," he said softly. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure," Jeremy stepped aside and allowed the vampire into his home. He shut the door, blinking as his eyes readjusted from the bright light and led him into the living room. He frowned when Bonnie was no longer on the floor where he'd left her.

"I don't know where—"

"Shower. I can hear the water running," he dropped onto the couch. Jeremy sat in the armchair beside it, watching him. Stefan seemed more depressed than usual; his shoulders were sagging as if he held the weight of the world on them, his face looked exhausted and worn and his clothes were rumpled. The vampire hunter wondered where he had been this entire time but he didn't ask.

"So what brings you to our place?" he said in an attempt for conversation. The younger Salvatore smiled grimly.

"I need a favor."

"Ah," Jeremy hummed, unsure of what else to say. He and Stefan had never interacted much unless it had to do with Elena but he had always liked him more than Damon. At least Stefan didn't go off the deep end when he was rejected.

"I'm sorry about Elena," he offered quietly. "It's a really shitty thing for her to do."

Stefan snorted lightly as he stared at his Italian loafers.

"It happens," he mumbled.

Jeremy watched him sympathetically but kept quiet, not knowing what else to say. He was pissed at Elena for choosing Damon over him because he was her family but he couldn't imagine how hurt Stefan was knowing that the love of his life chose his brother over him. Sire bond or not, the brooding vampire would feel the sting of that betrayal for a long time.

Bonnie joined them downstairs twenty minutes later and Jeremy was thankful that she was there to fill in the silence. He excused himself when they started talking to make coffee and he moved around the kitchen quietly as he listened to their conversation.

"Is there a way to break the sire bond?" Stefan asked.

"I'm not sure. I've been researching but I haven't found anything," she sighed. "She said her feelings weren't based on the sire bond, that they're the most real thing she's ever felt."

Stefan snorted again, "So she's been in love with Damon since before she turned. That's great."

"She also loved you Stefan," Bonnie squeezed his arm. "I don't know why Elena is doing this but it isn't your fault. You're going to get through this."

"I knew she cared about him…but I never thought she would… _could_ fall for him," his lip curled in disgust. "She slept with him as soon as we broke up, like she couldn't wait to get rid of me so she could hop on my brother."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"She was in love with both of us and I was gone. I'm not so sure it isn't true," he ran his hands through his hair in distress. "If there's no other way to break the sire bond, then I need another favor. If you're willing to do it."

"I'll see what I can do," she smiled. "What is it?"

He stood and started pacing. "Rebekah offered to take away my memories of Elena but she was only using it as a way to taunt me. But I've had a couple of days to think about it…and I want you to do it. I want you to erase my memories of Elena."

Jeremy almost dropped the mug he was holding and winced when he burned his finger on the coffee pot. He knew Bonnie was caught off two with her surprised expression.

"Erasing memories is really complicated," Bonnie said softly. "I would have to find the spell and practice it."

"That's fine. I could wait," he stared at the witch with big, pleading eyes. "I could come back."

"Stefan…are you sure you want to do this? I know she hurt you but tampering with memories is…really final," Bonnie sighed. "It's not as clean cut as it sounds. I'd be fixing a lot of your memories with others too, including Damon."

"That's what I want. I would've done it by now if Rebekah was willing to do it," Stefan's face was so pained she couldn't help but feel bad. "Please, Bonnie. I need to do this. I need to forget her so I can move on with my life."

Jeremy winced at how desperate he sounded. He really felt sorry for Stefan, but he thought he was being a little overdramatic with this. He was a vampire. He would move on and find someone else in no time. Elena was a perfect example of how quickly someone could move on but he kept that to himself.

"I'll research the spells and see what I can do. I won't make you any promises, only that I will look into it," she said finally. "I think there's a better way, but if it's what you want Stefan, I'll try."

"Thank you," he sighed in relief as he squeezed her hand. "You don't know how much this means to me. Thank you Bonnie."

"Of course," the witch turned around to give Jeremy a smile, indicating that he could come back. He padded back to the living room with two mugs in his hand.

"Just call me when you need me," Stefan sighed as he stood.

"Where're you going?" Jeremy asked. He shrugged.

"Don't know. Maybe I'll rent a hotel room," he smiled grimly. "I can't be in that house, not while they're there."

"Then stay here. We have extra room," Jeremy shrugged. Bonnie's eyebrow rose.

"You don't think you'll stake him in the middle of the night?"

"No, I don't think so," he chuckled.

"You would be fine with me staying here? I wouldn't want to intrude in any way," Stefan asked, sounding nearly hopeful. They nodded simultaneously.

"As long as you don't invite Damon up here," the hunter smirked when he snorted. "We're all up here for the same reason, so why not?"

Stefan chuckled, "Well, thank you."

"No problem man."

When Stefan left for Mystic Falls to grab his things, they quickly went through the bedroom that belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert to make sure it was clean.

"Do you think it's a good idea having him here?" Jeremy asked as they went back downstairs. "What if I do stake him in the middle of the night?"

"I don't think you will. I was being paranoid," she chuckled. "Having him here is useful for us. He can help us get your thoughts under control."

Jeremy sighed, "Hopefully you're right."


	2. Chapter 2

Stefan steeled his emotions when he pulled up to the boarding house and he heard Elena and Damon inside. His hands clenched the steering wheel tightly, wishing he would've called Caroline to do this with him. He wasn't ready to see them together or accept that his sweet, beautiful, compassionate Elena had fallen in love with his brother who didn't deserve her.

It was obvious when he returned to Mystic Falls that something had changed between her and his brother. It had been the very reason he wanted them to take the trip. He knew how much Elena cared for him, though she didn't want to admit it, and he wanted them to maintain their friendship despite how uncomfortable it made him. He knew how Damon felt about her and that he would make a move on her if he knew he had a chance but he had faith that Elena would be loyal. That trip had been the beginning of the end of their relationship and he wished he'd done something about it sooner.

The irony of being in the exact same situation that they were in 150 years ago wasn't lost on him. He didn't know how he managed to convince himself that Elena was nothing like Katherine even though she was now a vampire but he couldn't have been any more wrong. While he didn't think Elena broke his heart to be malicious, it stung that despite knowing both his and Damon's history with Katherine she put them both through this again. After all the times he told her how Katherine hurt him, she went and did the exact same thing with the exact same person it happened with the first time.

When his eyes started to water he closed them and scolded himself. There would be no more crying and self-loathing over Elena freaking Gilbert. She made her decision, now it was time for him to make a new start. She didn't love him, maybe she never had; either way it was time to let her go and move on. And once Bonnie learned the memory spell, she would rid him of his painful memories and he'd leave Mystic Falls for good. The knowledge that he was leaving soon was the only thing keeping him from turning off his emotions.

A part of him felt guilty for taking the easy route out of his misery. He wasn't the only one that Elena hurt. Her friends and her brother had more reason than him to be upset than he did and he felt sorry for all of them, even Matt and Tyler. Her complete disregard for how her decision would affect all of them pissed him off and he wondered how he cared more about her friends and family than she did. It made him wonder if she had always been this selfish, if the caring, compassion that had drawn him to her in the first place was all an act.

Before he allowed himself to get too angry he took deep breaths to gather his emotions under control. From inside, he heard Elena laughing at something his brother said before they kissed and he flinched. He needed to get the hell out of there. He couldn't do this with them there to flaunt their new relationship in his face. This was a dumb idea.

 _Oh no. You're going to go in that house, get your things and let Elena and Damon know that their actions and opinions don't mean shit_. _You're not going to let what they did bother you anymore because you deserve better than both of them._

He smiled when he remembered the pep talk Caroline had given him the entire drive from the lake house to here. She always knew how to cheer him up and make him see the better side of a situation. He was grateful that she had his back on this because he definitely needed her in his corner.

With newfound determination, he stepped out the car, squared his shoulders, and started walking. He didn't pause when he walked through the front door or when Elena shot up from the couch as if she'd been waiting for him to come in.

"Stefan!" she exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"Elena," he said curtly as he headed for the stairs, completely ignoring her question. He had to take another deep breath when he heard her following him into his room.

"I missed you at school. Caroline said she didn't know where you'd gone or if you were coming back but I knew she only said that because she's still mad at me," she gave a light laugh. He didn't respond or acknowledge her, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from answering. Instead, he pulled out a large black duffle bag from under his bed. Elena stopped at the door, frowning when he started gathering things from his desk and closet and throwing them inside haphazardly.

"What're you doing?" she said softly. He ignored her, determined not to let her see how much pain she was in. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she had broken his heart in the worse way.

"Stefan?"

"What Elena?" he finally snapped as he turned around. "What do you want?"

"I just…I wanted to make sure you're okay," she said meekly. He snorted.

"I'm fine."

The brunette doppelganger bit the inside of her cheek as he went back to packing and ignoring her. She watched him sadly. A large part of her regretted how much she had hurt him when she made the decision to be with Damon and she wished she could fix it. Just because she was no longer in love with him didn't mean she didn't love him at all.

"I'm sorry," she finally said with a little more emotion in her voice. "I know you don't believe me but I am Stefan. I'm sorry for all of this."

He stopped moving for a brief moment and she tensed, wondering if she had just set something off.

"You're sorry," he said flatly as he turned to face her again. She flinched at the anger and pain on his face. "What exactly are you sorry for Elena? For sleeping with him a day after we broke up or that I found out about it?"

She looked ashamed and he felt a rush of satisfaction. No longer was he going to spare her feelings. He refused to tip-toe around sensitive subjects like his broken heart just because she was feeling fragile.

"We weren't going to keep it a secret from you," she sighed. "It's not like I planned for this to happen."

He gave a disgruntled snort, "I bet Damon did."

"I didn't just decide to hop into bed with him. We spend so much time, every day really, looking for you during the summer. And it was hard because you were gone and I missed you so much and we just…" she shook her head. "Then you came back and you weren't yourself and then…then Klaus turned your emotions off—"

"I know. I was present for it," he snapped.

"When you stopped Damon from killing Klaus, we thought we lost you for good. We didn't think you would—"

"Klaus ordered his hybrids to kill him if he got to him first! They were ordered not to stop attacking until we were all dead! I was doing what I needed to do to save all of us!" he glared at her. "I saved his life and yours and you both fucked me over."

"I'm sorry," she whispered in shame as her eyes welled with tears.

"It's me and you Stefan, always. That's what _you_ said Elena, your words. But I guess that only applied to me if I was here, right?" he sneered at her.

"No! I meant every word of that!" she cried. "Stefan—!"

"It doesn't matter anymore. You made your decision," he growled as he returned to his task of moving his closet to his duffle bag. He hated that his pain was so clear in his voice but he was just about done caring what Elena or his brother thought. It was clear they didn't give a shit about him at all. He just wished she would let him do this with what little dignity he had left and let him lick his wounds in peace.

"I never meant to hurt you. You have to believe that it was never my intention to hurt you like this," she said desperately. He barked out a laugh as he dumped more clothes into his bag.

"I don't care what you meant to do Elena. I don't care about anything you do anymore," he snapped as he shoved the clothes in every corner of his bag. "I don't know what you want from me but if you're looking for someone to be sympathetic towards you, I'm not that person."

He heard her sniffle and he rolled his eyes. He couldn't figure out why she was hovering over him while his brother was still there and it made him even more eager to get out of there. She was starting to suffocate him.

"When you told Rebekah to…to erase your memories of me…did you really mean that?" she asked quietly. He finally managed to zip the overstuffed bag shut and he swung it over his shoulder.

"Why does that matter?"

"You would just…erase everything we've ever had?" she sounded so hurt that he felt bad and he hated himself.

"Why not? You had no problem doing it," he sneered as he walked past her. He briefly considered telling her about Bonnie and the deal they made but he wasn't going to let her see him more wounded than he already was. They would figure it out when he didn't call for a few years and they came looking for him. Or maybe they would be happy that he was finally out of their way for good.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked as she followed him down the stairs.

"Away," he said simply without turning around. He was halfway to the door when he heard Damon whistling as he came down the other end of the hall, his usual glass of Bourbon in his hand. His brother took one look at him at laughed out loud.

"And where are you running to baby brother? Moving out?" he teased.

"Something like that. I'll come back for the rest of my stuff when I'm not distracted," he shot Elena a pointed look and she looked at the floor. Damon sighed as he looked between his brother and his girlfriend.

"You don't have to leave Stefan," he sighed, almost sounding annoyed he would do such a thing. "Stop being overdramatic like the rest of her friends."

Stefan threw his head back with a loud laugh.

"Thank you for letting me know I can stay in my own house Damon. That makes me feel so much better," he spat.

"Is Rebekah taking you in? I hear you two are getting quite cozy these days," Damon smirked. Elena sucked in a breath behind them.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no," he sneered at him as he continued towards the front door. He was tired of looking at them. All he wanted was to get out of there and drown himself in a bottle somewhere. He would've preferred someone's neck but he wasn't going to allow them to make him that angry to take it out on a human being. He was better than that.

"Getting out of the house will be good for you, baby brother. I hope you find yourself or…whatever it is you plan on doing. Should I tell the school you're not coming back? They might start to worry," he batted his eyelashes at him playfully. Neither Elena nor Stefan looked amused.

"Tell them whatever the hell you want," Stefan glared as he walked out. He threw his stuff in the passenger seat of his car and took off in the next moment. Elena ran to the door just in time to see him disappear down the street.

"Don't let him fool you. He'll be back," the rogue vampire sighed as he leaned against the door frame.

Elena shook her head slowly, wondering why there was a lump lodged in her throat, "I don't think so."

* * *

Bonnie stretched her arms lazily as she set her history textbook down to watch Jeremy chop more firewood in the backyard. His bulging arms and white wife beater soaked with sweat and exertion were definitely more appealing than reading about WWII and she snorted to herself. If there was something she regretted not doing when they were together, it was taking things to the next level. She hadn't been ready but she had been warming up to the idea of being with him, of letting him touch her and kiss her in places other than her lips. But now that she had gotten over his betrayal and he had apologized, she wasn't sure they should be rushing into anything.

She wished that she could ask Elena for advice like she used. Even if it was about her own brother, Bonnie always knew she could count on her best friend for solid advice on anything. But her best friend died the night her car was submerged underwater and a version of her she didn't recognize had taken her place. She knew she'd lost Elena the moment she chose Damon over all of them and it was a crushing blow.

Bonnie wondered if they were being too hard on Elena. She'd been through so much this past year and lost so many people that she couldn't blame her for being a little screwed up. But so had she, so had Caroline and Matt and Tyler and Jeremy. They had _all_ lost someone they loved, yet none of them had betrayed their friends.

Jeremy lifted his head when he heard a car pulling up and he sat the axe down, alerting her that someone had just pulled up to the house.

"That might be Stefan," Jeremy sighed as he wiped his face with a towel. He jogged up the two stairs that led to the back door and through the living room to open the front door. He was thrown when he saw Kol Mikaelson smirking back at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I missed my best mate and came to see him," he moved forward but was blocked at the threshold. "Let me in."

"Hell no," he growled. "Get lost."

"I need to speak with you," his smirk grew when he saw Bonnie come through the back door. "Did I interrupt something here?"

"What do you want Kol?" the hunter snarled through gritted teeth. His fingers twitched with the need to sink a stake into his chest and wipe that stupid grin off his face like he should've back in Denver.

"Klaus wants the cure. He's become quite…impatient," he leaned against the doorframe. "You should know how he gets when he doesn't get something he wants when he wants it."

"Tell him to find it himself. We're not looking for it anymore," Jeremy rolled his eyes. "So if that's all—"

"Why not?" he asked curiously. "Was it not your mission to reverse the doppelganger's vampirism? Klaus certainly thinks it's what you lot want."

"It was," Bonnie glared at him as she stood by Jeremy. "Things changed."

"Oh, she decided she liked immortality after all," he chuckled. "Or does it have to do with that Mary-Sue vampire with caterpillars for eyebrows? Damon Salvatore, right?" he chuckled when their disgust started to show. "I see you lot don't care for that detestable bastard either."

"It's none of your business," Jeremy threw at him half-heartedly. He didn't even have the will to defend his sister or Damon when they weren't here.

"What is my business is this cure, and that you lot stop looking for it while you still can. Of course, you already not looking for it makes all of this much easier," he smirked. "Klaus will be pissy but he'll move on to a new project in no time."

"Why don't you want it found?" Bonnie frowned.

"Have you never heard the story of Silas? What rock are you living under?" Kol's eyebrow rose. "He's the most powerful witch that ever lived. Turned himself immortal and that cure was made to turn him back to a mortal. It's buried in his tomb, but you have to wake him up to get it out."

"An immortal witch?" Jeremy's eyebrow rose. "The cure is meant to be taken by a witch?"

"It can cure any immortal. The catch is that there's only enough for one person. And that person must be Silas."

"Why?"

"If he's freed, he'll unleash a hell on earth. The likes of which the world will most likely never recover," he stated matter-of-factly. The hunter and witch shared a look before they started laughing. They missed the frown Kol gave them.

"There's no such thing as an immortal witch. Nature wouldn't allow for someone to have that kind of power," Bonnie giggled. "This is just a myth."

"I assure you it's not."

"Alright, where's he buried then?" Jeremy smirked. Kol rolled his eyes.

"Haven't you been paying attention? Your hunter's mark becomes a map when you've killed enough vampires to complete it. That's the only way anyone can find his location. His coven buried him centuries ago in a tomb that was sealed off with powerful dark magic and can only be broken by decedents of that coven. Your ancestors," Kol nodded in Bonnie's direction. "Look it up yourself if you don't believe me."

"Bullshit," Jeremy snorted. "I think you do want us to find the cure so you can have it for yourself."

"What would I need with a cure? I quite like being immortal."

"So you can barter with Klaus for something. We know how you and your siblings work," Bonnie scowled at him. "We've already heard the stories about Silas and the cure and it's not real."

"From your lovely new friend that has taken a swift interest in you, I imagine," he chuckled darkly. Her heart sped up in alarm.

"How do you know about Shane?"

"I have my ways love," he winked. "He's very taken with the idea of bringing Silas back to the land of the living. He might become a liability."

"Don't you dare do anything to him!" Bonnie snapped as she stormed forward. Before she could step outside Jeremy pulled her back in. She was momentarily stunned before she scowled at Kol again. "Touch him and you'll regret it."

"Will I now?" he nearly purred. She stared at him in disgust and embarrassment.

"Get the hell off of my porch," Jeremy growled as he slammed the door in his face. When the vampire started knocking again, he grabbed his crossbow that was sitting by a wooden beam.

"Believe me, if there is anything I want, it is for that cure to remain where it belongs," they heard through the wooden door. "You have no idea the kind of suffering he will bring if he's released. He was put in that tomb for a reason. And there's a reason vampire hunters like you were created to protect the secret of its location. He must never be free."

"Well you don't have to worry about Silas doing anything. We're not looking for the cure anymore. And you can tell Klaus that he can look for it himself if he wants it so damn bad," Jeremy loaded an arrow before he locked the bow into place and aimed in the general area of Kol's head. "You have three seconds to leave before I start shooting."

They heard Kol snicker.

"Is this about Denver? It was nothing personal mate. I was merely following my controlling older brother's orders to stick around until he needed to use you for leverage."

"One!" Jeremy barked as he put his finger on the trigger. He gave Bonnie a look and she immediately put her hand on the handle, ready to pull it open when he wanted to shoot.

"We can all be friends mate. It doesn't have to be this way between us. You aren't as boring and dreadful as I predicted you to be."

"Two!"

Bonnie threw open the door as Jeremy started to squeezed his finger back. The moment Kol was in his sight, he squeezed his finger back all the way and released the arrow. It sailed through the air, through the open door and was stopped by Kol grabbing it around the center, just inches from his face.

"Impressive," he chuckled at Jeremy. "Have you been practicing?"

"Leave! And don't come back!" he snapped as he reached for another arrow to load from the quiver on the floor. Kol tossed the arrow back inside and put up his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright," he blatantly looked Bonnie up and down and licked his lips when their eyes met. "I'll see you around, love."

The witch felt a shiver go up her back as they held eye contact for a second more before he was gone. Behind her, Jeremy grunted as he set the crossbow down.

"He's a dick," he growled as he stormed through the living room once more to get to the backyard. He'd caught the way he'd been looking at his ex-girlfriend and he didn't like it at all.

With newfound strength and anger he took the axe back in his hands and started chopping wood again. Bonnie followed behind him and took her original seat with her WWII text book and various loose-leaf pages crammed with spells.

"Maybe we should get rid of _all_ the Originals, not just Klaus," Jeremy said after halving ten pieces of bark. "We get them all, they can't make any more vampires."

"That doesn't mean other vampires won't," she sighed. "We should just focus on Klaus for now."

"Maybe we can get just Kol too. He's a pain in the ass," Jeremy grumbled to himself as he brought the axe down ever harder against the wood. "I wish that arrow would've got him. He'd deserve it after all the shit he's done."

"I can ask Professor Shane if he knows of any desiccation Expression spells. With all the power I have now…it shouldn't be too hard," Bonnie shrugged. Jeremy put the axe down and faced her with a frown.

"Can we trust him?" he asked about Shane. "I'm glad you've got your magic back, don't get me wrong, but…it just seems odd that he knows so much about you and your family and this dark magic stuff."

"It's not dark magic. It's neutral," she smiled. "Expression can't be used for good or bad Jer. Shane taught me that. It's just energy that I can use to my will."

Jeremy had the feeling that Shane told her a bunch of bullshit but he dropped the subject. Bonnie had been so destroyed when she lost her magic he thought she would never do it again. Because magic was such an essential part of who she was, he wanted to help her find her way back but Shane had beaten him to it. He was suspicious and concerned that his intentions with the young witch weren't honorable, and if he were being honest with himself, he was jealous that she looked for support from him instead of her like she used to when dealing with her magic.

"I can ask him about the spells tomorrow, since I'll ask him about the memory spell for Stefan," she sighed. "Do you think I should do it?"

"If it's what he wants," he shrugged. "Do _you_ think you should do it?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid that I could wipe away more than just Elena from his memory," she sighed. "What if I somehow trigger his Ripper side?"

"How would you do that?"

"What if I wipe away his humanity or something?"

Jeremy laughed, "I don't think you'll mess up that badly. Have a little more faith in yourself Bon. You're the most powerful witch I know."

"I'm the only witch you know."

"I know your mom and Lucy."

"And Silas," she giggled.

"You're the most _real_ powerful witch I know," he clarified. "You don't believe he actually exists, do you?"

"He might," she shrugged. "Shane and Kol's stories are pretty similar. All myths originate from somewhere, right?"

The front door being thrown open halted their conversation. They ran back into the living room and stopped when they saw an inebriated Stefan stumbling through the kitchen. He reached into the last cabinet in the corner and pulled out a half-full bottle of Grey Goose Vodka.

"Hey!" he cried as he raised it in the air by its neck. "Didn't know you guys were here!"

"Are you drunk?" Jeremy couldn't help asking the obvious. Seeing the normally brooding vampire like…this was definitely something new.

"Very much so," he chuckled before he brought the bottle to his lips and drank deeply as if he were drinking water. The two teens shared a look.

"So are you guys gonna stand there or are you gonna catch up?" Stefan rasped when he pulled the bottle away from his lips. They shared another look before they each shrugged. Bonnie used her hand to summon three glasses from the cabinet and directed the bottle out of Stefan's hands to pour them each a shot.

"That is an awesome trick," the vampire grinned. "You _have_ to teach me how to do that."

"Maybe when you're sober," she laughed as she picked up a glass while directing the other two into the hands of her friends. "What should we toast to?"

"How about we toast to me getting a fresh start away from the two people I loved that betrayed me," Stefan's hand shot in the air with his glass and the drink nearly spilled out. Jeremy bit back an amused smile as he raised his own glass.

"To a fresh start," he said out loud as they hit their glasses together. He took a deep breath and refused to inhale the scent as he gulped down the burning liquid, wincing as it burned down his chest and into his belly.

Bonnie coughed lightly as she set her glass down, "That was awful."

"Yes it was," Stefan agreed as he started refilling their glasses. "Let's do another one."

"Can't. It's a school night," she gave Jeremy a pointed glare. He shrugged.

"I'm taking a sick day," he raised his glass to her. "Maybe you should do the same."

"Yeah, take a sick day," Stefan echoed. "Or you can just do what I did and have my psychotic backstabber of a brother tell the principal you moved away."

"You did that?" she gaped at him. "But what if you want to go back?"

"I don't. Trust me," he laughed hollowly as he threw back another shot. "Once you erase my memories I'm leaving for good. I'm never coming back to Mystic Falls."

"Where will you go?" Jeremy asked. He shrugged.

"Don't know. I hear Seattle is nice. Maybe Alaska," he smiled wryly as he poured himself a double shot. "I'm going somewhere where my brother can't find me so he can't fuck up my life again."

"Cheers to that," Jeremy raised his glass to him and waited until Stefan had poured himself a refill before drinking it. Bonnie watched them in amusement and a little sadness. Hearing Stefan talk about his future without the girl he loved so much was a little disheartening to hear. She felt sorry for him.

"Well Jer, let me know if you change your mind. But you should consider going since you haven't been the past week," she laughed lightly. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Night," they said simultaneously as she climbed the stairs. Jeremy sighed when he heard the door to her bedroom close and poured himself more Vodka. He pushed the bottle to Stefan and he took it silently.

"Are you guys still a thing?" he asked as he kicked his feet onto the table. Jeremy shook his head.

"Nah. We haven't been for a while."

He hummed, "Why not?"

"You didn't hear?" Jeremy asked him cynically. "I kissed my ghost ex-girlfriend and told Elena, who told Bonnie, I still had feelings for her."

"Do you still?"

He shook his head before taking another shot of Vodka. He could feel his stomach starting to burn and his head becoming a little hazy.

"She was the first person I loved. I missed her," he sighed. "But Elena told me I couldn't love a ghost for the rest of my life so I let her go. And then I lost Bonnie too because I lied about it like a coward."

He met Stefan's contemplating stare at he felt a little foolish at just having divulged such private information. They weren't close by any means, so it seemed odd that he felt comfortable discussing it.

"That's rough," he said finally. The hunter shrugged.

"It's fine. We're speaking again," he sighed with a self-deprecating laugh. "Don't think she'll want to give our relationship another chance though."

"Then focus on rebuilding the friendship. If the relationship is meant to happen again, it will," he said. Jeremy was slightly taken aback but he gave him a small smile.

"Thanks for the advice."

Stefan merely raised his half full glass of Vodka towards him before drinking.

* * *

Bonnie awoke the next morning to a frantic text message from Caroline asking about her whereabouts. Cursing, she saw that it was 7:45 and her first class started at 8:30, leaving her only forty-five minutes to make an hour and fifteen minute drive. Ignoring the biting cold she hopped in the shower and waited five minutes for the water to heat before scrubbing herself off as quickly as she could. She pulled on an old pair of ripped jeans, a thick black hoodie and her comfortable Moccasin shoes before grabbing her back pack and running out of the room. She paused when she saw Jeremy sprawled out on the couch and the empty bottle of Vodka on the table. Chuckling, she left silently so as not to disturb him. He was definitely going to have a hangover when he woke up and she almost felt bad for him.

Stepping out into the chilly morning, she pulled her sweater tighter around her thin frame as she walked briskly to her icy Prius. She quickly unlocked it and threw her bag in the passenger seat as she sat, letting out a silent scream from the cold of her leather seats. She started the car and immediately cranked up the heat and defroster, humming along to the song on the radio.

After five minutes she strapped her seatbelt in place and began backing out. She looked over her shoulder briefly before turning to the front and screamed when she saw Kol standing in front of her car. Her heart pounded and she blinked rapidly to assure herself that she wasn't imagining him standing there, because why would she imagine that?

A knock on her window made her jump. She glowered at his gleeful expression as he tapped his knuckles against the glass and she rolled it down partly.

"What?" she snapped.

"Good-morning to you too," he grinned. "Off to school?"

"What're you doing here? Jeremy was serious when he said don't come back."

"Oh I'm sure he was. He looked so ready to kill me yesterday I believe every word he said," he chuckled. "However, I don't believe he would've had the chance."

"Why not?"

"You would've prevented him from killing me."

She snorted, "Why would you think that?"

"Despite how much you detest me, your compassion won't allow you to let him kill me. You know that my death ensures the death of thousands of other, innocent vampires that may or may not have wanted this life but will die regardless if I'm killed."

"There's no such thing as an innocent vampire. You had to drink blood to become one, meaning that you had to _hurt_ someone. That doesn't make you innocent," she sneered. He chuckled.

"Is the world always so black and white with you? I don't suppose you hate your friends that are vampires because they had to drink human blood to live. They had no choice, just like the rest of us that didn't have a choice."

She wondered what he meant by that before she looked at the time and remembered that she had somewhere she needed to be.

"I need to get to school."

She rolled her window back up and continued backing up until she reached the main street. She paused when she saw Kol standing in the same spot, watching her. He was such an unpredictable vampire, more than Damon, and she didn't like that at all. He was too wild for her liking and the fact that he knew where she and Jeremy were, that he could even be watching them, was enough to frighten her.

 _At least we have Stefan_ , she sighed as she took off down the road into town.

* * *

Jeremy groaned when he woke up in an awkward position on the couch. His stomach was churning, his head was pounding and he was sweating terribly from the rays of the sun shining through the exposed back windows of the living room. Unsticking himself from the leather, he fell on his back onto the floor with another groan and threw his arm over his eyes in distress. He really needed to make it to the bathroom before he hurled everything onto his parent's very expensive rug.

"Morning," he heard Stefan coming down the stairs and pause when he saw him. "You look like hell."

"Trashcan," he rasped as he felt the nausea double. Luckily, the vampire got the hint and used his super speed to carry him upstairs to his bathroom. He barely shoved Jeremy's face into the toilet when everything in his stomach came up from the previous night.

"You drank _a lot_ ," Stefan chuckled as he watched the young hunter worship the porcelain bowl. "I kept telling you to stop but you insisted on keeping up with me."

Jeremy spat out a bit of corn he had with yesterday's dinner, "Why didn't you stop me?"

"I tried. You told me you had it under control and that you were definitely going to beat me. Your attempt was admirable, I'll give you that."

"And you listened to me?" he snorted. "By that point I'd forgotten you were an immortal being with no need for a liver."

Stefan laughed, "That's true."

"What else happened that I don't remember?"

"You danced on the table for a bit. Then you tried to jump off the roof because you wanted to show me you could fly," Stefan said with a blank face. The vampire hunter groaned in embarrassment.

"You're lying," he moaned in pain and humiliation. He glared at the vampire when he started laughing again.

"I am. All you did was fall out of your chair while you were ranting about Damon being an asshole, so I stuck you on the couch," he grinned. "No embarrassing stories for us to talk about this time."

"There won't ever be any embarrassing stories for us to talk about because I'm _never_ drinking again," Jeremy leaned his head against the cool porcelain and moaned at the relief it gave his overheated skin. "I'm gonna die on my bathroom floor."

"I could give you some vampire blood to make the hangover pass faster," Stefan suggested. The hunter nearly took his offer.

"I'm good. I'll get through this," he sighed as he waved his hand at him. "Go away so I can throw-up with dignity."

"As you wish," Stefan chuckled as he gave a mock bow and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"So, how's Stefan?" Caroline asked quietly as she reapplied mascara to her eyelashes using her pink mirror on her locker door. "He said you guys are letting him stay up there until he figures things out."

"He's fine. He's upset, obviously," Bonnie said slowly. "Did he, uh, say how long he was going to stay in Mystic Falls?"

"No. Every time I ask him that he gets all hush-hush and secretive," she rolled her eyes. "I already know he's going to leave so I don't get why he just won't tell me to where."

Bonnie bit her lip as she realized that Stefan hadn't mentioned wanting her to erase his memories to the blonde. She felt guilty that she knew something she didn't and they were closer. The witch understood why he didn't tell her, but she felt Caroline had a right to know that Stefan might possibly forget her too.

"Did he say anything about going away somewhere?"

"He just wants to be away from Elena and his brother. I can't really say I blame him," she sighed. "Have you talked to her?"

Caroline snorted, "Nope."

"Do you think we're being too harsh on her?" Bonnie worried her bottom lip between her front teeth. "Damon is a shit person but Elena's had it really rough this past year and a half and, while I hate to say this, he has always been there for her."

"So have the rest of us," she snapped. "And Damon is beyond a shit person. He _killed_ her brother, tried to kill us, her _best friends_ , and promised to make his brother's life a living hell over a woman that played them both and he's too stupid to realize she never even loved him. Then Stefan leaves to save his miserable little life from that werewolf bite and he thanks him by stealing his girlfriend! Shit person doesn't even _begin_ to describe Damon. Too bad there aren't more words in the English language I can use to describe how much of an asshole he is."

Bonnie sighed again, feeling the similar anger Caroline was feeling building within her. No matter how many times she tried to find a positive side to this situation, she couldn't find one reason to tolerate Damon or his relationship with her best friend. He clearly didn't regret hurting anyone except Elena, so how could she expect them to get past it to accept them being together?

"Don't get me wrong, I want Elena to be happy and it's great that she is. But she needs to understand that I'm never going to think the guy that abused me, my boyfriend and all my friends is a good person. I hate Damon and that's never going to change."

"Same. He's done nothing to earn our forgiveness."

"He's done nothing to earn Elena's either," Caroline slammed her locker shut and grabbed her backpack from the floor. Both girls turned around and paused when they saw Elena staring at them from the other end of the hall. Bonnie knew from her expression that she'd heard their conversation.

"Let's go," she muttered as they started down the hall for class. Elena disappeared before they were even halfway.

They took their usual seats in Professor Shane's class. Bonnie frowned when she noticed Tyler wasn't in his and Matt eyed it every five minutes as if he would just appear.

Caroline frowned as she sat her books down, "Where's Ty?"

"Don't know. I called him this morning and stopped by his house but he didn't answer," Matt sighed as he scratched the back of his neck. "He's probably passed out drunk on the couch."

"Just like Jeremy," Bonnie snorted. "He and Stefan had a drinking contest last night."

Elena walked in the room and paused at the door, her hopeful eyes landing on their trio. Matt gave her a small smile and a wave and Bonnie offered her half of one before looking away. The doppelganger returned it before taking a seat on the other side of the room.

"Did you find and spells to help get rid of you-know-who?" Caroline lowered her voice. "He's upset we're not looking for this cure anymore and he's giving Tyler a week to get his affairs in order, as he's called it, before he kills him."

"Why can't Klaus find the cure himself?"

"The only way to find it is using the hunter's map," Bonnie sighed. "His brother Kol showed up yesterday asking about it too, but he doesn't want us to find it unlike his brother."

Caroline's brow furrowed, "Why not? I thought they were on the same team."

"This stupid myth Kol believes about a guy that's supposedly buried with the cure. He's the most powerful immortal being on earth and the cure is mean to only be taken by him, otherwise he'll supposedly unleash terror on the world," Bonnie snorted. "He's super paranoid that this Silas guy will get free so he wants us to stop looking for it."

"If a centuries-old vampire is scared of a myth, I think we should all be too," Matt said lowly. "What if he's seen something?"

Bonnie hadn't wanted to admit that she was leaning on the side of caution when it came to the cure already because of how obsessed Shane was with finding it, but Matt made a good point. If Kol, an Original vampire that couldn't die, was scared of Silas then they had more than enough reason to be.

"Alright class," their math teacher walked in and the chatter immediately died. "Before we hop into the wonderful world of geometry, I want to introduce a new classmate."

Bonnie's mouth dropped when Kol walked in, dressed in ripped jeans, a white T-shirt with a band logo, Converse tennis shoes and a black backpack slung over his shoulder. He lifted the sunglasses away from his eyes and smirked at all of them, winking at her when their eyes met.

"Oh no," Caroline groaned. "This _can't_ be happening."

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" their teacher, Mrs. Thorton, gave him a flirty smile.

"I'd be happy to," he returned her smile. Bonnie could tell his accent and charm was making her swoon and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm Kol Mikaelson. Some of you might know my little sister Rebekah," he smirked at the girls who were openly drooling over him. "I can't express how…delighted I am to be here with you all."

"Thank you Kol. There's an open seat over there for you," Mrs. Thorton pointed to the empty desk in front of Bonnie where she had set her bag in the chair. Reluctantly, the witch moved it to the floor by her feet and kept her head down when Kol sat. She caught the scent of his cologne and she hated herself for thinking he smelled as good as he looked.

"Fancy seeing you here, love," he chuckled under his breath. She shot him a glare but Mrs. Thorton began speaking before she could answer him. Sighing, she pulled out her notebook, a pencil and her phone when it buzzed with a text from Elena.

_What's he doing here?_

_I don't know_ , she text back quickly.

"Can you please refrain from texting while I'm trying to learn? It's quite the distraction."

Bonnie shot the smug vampire another heated glare, "What the hell are you even doing here?"

"I'm getting an education. That's not a crime is it?"

"What're you _really_ doing here?"

He chuckled, "Trying something new."

"Ms. Bennett, Kol, you two may have all the time you need after class to talk but right now can I have your attention up here?" Mrs. Thorton turned to them with a stern expression. Bonnie flushed and mumbled an apology under her breath, cursing Kol and everything for the umpteenth time that morning. The end of the day couldn't come soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait!

Bonnie was convinced that someone from above got a kick out of watching her suffer. There was no other explanation for Kol to show up to her math class, dressed as if he belonged in this era and showing up everyone in Algebra II, which made him immediately popular with the Mystic Falls in-crowd. She couldn’t help but scowl at him from her place under a huge willow tree on the opposite lawn as she watched him flirt with the cheerleaders at their table, save for Rebekah who looked put out at not being the center of attention. It bothered her that she couldn’t figure out what he was trying to accomplish by enrolling himself in a high-school other than having easy access to fresh blood.

“Maybe Klaus sent him to spy on us,” Matt murmured as if he’d read her mind. “He did the same thing with Rebekah.”

“She came of her own free will,” Caroline’s lip curled. “She actually wants to be a high-school student.”

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“She has a thing for you. It’s obvious,” she nudged his shoulder as she took small sips of blood from her purple plastic mug. Matt snorted as he stretched out on his stomach.

“Why? I’ve been an ass to her.”

“Girls are drawn to assholes. You’re a douche, but not to everyone, and she probably wants to change you. But then she’ll wind up changing herself and give up her morals in the process and then she’ll be a completely different person and _everyone_ will see it but her,” the blonde ended bitterly. It didn’t take much for them to realize who she was alluding to.

One of the girls Kol sat next to, a blonde with perfectly done make-up and bleach-blonde hair wrapped in a tight bun, giggled loudly as he whispered something in her ear. He looked up, caught Bonnie’s gaze and threw her a wink, the third one since they were released for lunch. The witch rolled her eyes and looked away.

“Do you think the reason he’s here has something to do with Elena?”

“I don’t think so. She can’t make any more hybrids for Klaus,” Caroline exasperated. “I guess that’s one good thing about her becoming a vampire.”

Matt huffed, “Then I can’t think of a reason other than to hurt us or annoy us.”

“If he wanted to hurt us, I think he would’ve by now,” the blonde sighed. “Maybe he really does just…want to go to school.”

“I doubt that,” Bonnie grumbled as she thumbed through the loose-leaf pages from Grams’ spell-book. She had analyzed her conversation with the Original from this morning over and over but couldn’t find any indication that he was here to cause any harm. But he was an Original, and Klaus’ brother at that. They brought trouble with them wherever they went. There was a reason he was here, and she had the feeling it had to do with her magic.

“What kind of spells are you looking at?” Caroline looked over her shoulder and Bonnie jumped. She panicked briefly before she remembered that her best friend didn’t know what any of it meant, so she wouldn’t know she was learning ways to erase Stefan’s memories.

“Nothing, just something Shane gave me,” she smiled as she stuffed them back into her bag. The bell rang sharply across the schoolyard and some groaned when they realized their break was over. Thankfully, it was Friday.

“We should hang at the cabin this weekend. Carol’s funeral is next week so…I thought we could keep him distracted and away from you-know-who. And we have another three weeks before we have to start planning for prom and I could definitely use a break from this place,” Caroline sighed as Matt and Bonnie picked up their bags and disposed of their trash before walking back to the school building. The brunette nearly faltered in her steps. She had completely forgotten about prom.

“And before you two say _anything_ , you’re both going,” she said triumphantly. “I’m getting all of us tickets. _Free_ tickets I might add.”

“The perks of being a vampire,” Matt chuckled wryly as they parted ways for their lockers. Bonnie sighed as she opened hers, lamenting at having one more thing to worry about. Despite having more power than people could dream of, she was nervous that prom night would come and she would wind up going dateless. She supposed she could always make someone go with her, but there was no fun in that.

“How’s Jeremy? You should bring him to prom,” Caroline added without giving her time to answer. “Is it weird living with him?”

“Not at all. We both needed a break from Mystic Falls,” her cheeks warmed when she thought about him and his dopey grin. “I’ll ask him, but I don’t think school dances are really his thing.”

“His thing is to make you happy, so he’ll go,” she grinned. “I’ve always thought you two were adorable. He’s a dick for what he did, but at least he knows it was wrong and doesn’t make excuses for it. And unlike _some_ people, Jeremy’s actually a decent person.”

“I know,” she giggled. “I’ll think about it.”

“What’s there to think about? You two definitely have unfinished business,” she wiggled her eyebrows at her laughing friend. “Have you guys ever…?”

“What? No!” Bonnie shoved her shoulder. “We were only together for a few weeks.”

“So? Tyler and I were only together for a few weeks before we did it. Actually, we weren’t together at all, which sounds really bad but we’re best friends so it doesn’t matter.”

“That doesn’t even count. You and Tyler have always been friends,” the witch chuckled. “I’ve always only seen Jeremy as Elena’s little brother. I’d feel weird sleeping with him. I’d feel like a cougar. Or a cradle robber.”

“He would be blessed to have you rob his cradle.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she shook her head as she closed her locker and zipped up her backpack with the things she needed. “Ready?”

When they turned around to head to class they stopped and watched Kol watching them from the end of the hall. Bonnie felt a shiver go up her spine when his face remained blank. There was no wink, no smirk, no anything. Suddenly he was gone.

“Did you just see that?” Caroline said suspiciously. “Something is definitely up with him.”

“Yeah,” she murmured. She had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach when it came to Kol Mikaelson and she wished she could figure out his ulterior motive.

They parted ways at the entrance of Bonnie’s chemistry class and the brunette took her assigned seat at the front table near the door. When Elena entered a couple moments later, she sent her a small smile. The vampire returned it before going to the second rom and sitting on the worn black stool. Bonnie felt a pang of sadness when she didn’t stop to talk the way they used to before she started dating Damon. She might’ve hated the rogue vampire but she missed her friendship with Elena twice as much, if not more than her distaste for him. Did she really want to sacrifice another good thing in her life because of that bastard?

Before she could answer her own question, Kol walked through just as the last bell rang. The witch gritted her teeth as he watched her compel the teacher to accept him into the class and assigned him the seat next to her. She tried, and failed, not to inhale his cologne that was making her mouth water.

“Someone already sits there,” she snapped when he sat.

“Not anymore.”

“The seating is alphabetical order.”

“Now it’s not,” Kol smirked. “You’re certainly uptight today.”

“Why are you following me?” she hissed back. He chuckled.

“Just because we happen to have two classes together doesn’t mean I’m following you. You think highly of yourself, don’t you?” he winked at her. She refused to rise to his bait.

“What’re you really doing here? You don’t honestly expect me to believe you want to sit in a classroom and listen to someone lecture on things you already know.”

“ _Au_ _contraire_ , I happen to be quite interested in what’s being taught to the youth of the 21st century,” his smirk grew. “It’s been quite interesting to see how dumbed down this material is from a century ago. I truly pity all of you.”

Her eyes narrowed, “Did Klaus put you up to this?”

“You’ll have to be more specific darling.”

“Spying on us,” she snapped.

He chuckled, “If Klaus wanted to know what you were up to he would torture it out of you, not force his siblings to attend school.”

“So you just like to be around teenagers all day? I find that hard to believe,” she snorted.

Their teacher started talking, gaining everyone’s attention. When her back was turned, Kol slightly angled his body to her, as much and subtly as the stool would allow.

“Rebekah’s always going on about how much fun this high-school thing is. Since Klaus is making us stay in this tedious dump of a town I decided to see what all the fuss was about. It’s not living up to the hype so far. These subjects are horrendously dull,” he smirked. “Such a shame they don’t offer sex-ed. They must not want to corrupt minds at such a young age.”

The witch rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t deny the spike of her heart rate at the huskiness of his voice.

“Although this is a fair trade-in. Chemistry has always been my favorite subject,” he licked his lips. “So I suppose this makes you my lab partner, is that how you Americans say it?”

“Shh,” Bonnie hissed as she stared forward determinedly. Whatever Kol’s angle, she wasn’t going to let him stop her from getting her education, even if he was ten times more interesting than the elements on the periodic table. Kol chuckled but he stopped talking and faced forward as well. It was going well, until they had to partner up for a lab experiment having to do with alchemy. In the next row, she caught Elena’s quizzical face and shrugged her shoulders in response.

“Alchemy and chemistry is a lot like magic, wouldn’t you say?” Kol murmured as he flawlessly set up the experiment without waiting for the teacher to finish her own set-up. “Only one way for it to go right or it goes horrendously wrong.”

“What do you know about magic?” her eyebrow rose.

“My mother was a witch. I was the only one out of my siblings that was gifted like her,” the corner of his lips rose into a half-smile. “I could do all manner of things. We created all kinds of spells, mother and I. She used to say I was so gifted that I could part the sea with my own two hands if I wanted.”

Bonnie stared at him in disbelief. She never would’ve thought that Kol Mikaelson, of all people, was gifted with magic. Briefly, she wondered if he was lying.

“But then I became a vampire and I lost it,” his smile disappeared and she could hear anger in sadness in his voice as he turned on the Bunsen burner and pulled out his wallet to dump a few pennies on the table. Bonnie winced at his tone. It reminded her of her mother, how bitter and angry she was about not being able to be one with nature through magic anymore and how their slowly budding relationship had suffered because of it. It was one of the reasons she didn’t want to live in Mystic Falls anymore.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly as he dropped the copper pieces into the beaker. “I know how it feels to lose all of your magic. It’s a horrible feeling.”

“It’s even worse when you realize you’ll never get it back,” he glanced up. “At least you got a second chance.”

The olive-eyed witch suddenly felt guilty that she’d been so suspicious of him, though she quickly berated herself for second-guessing her gut. They spent the rest of the hour and a half doing their project in silence, only discussing the experiment when they needed to.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Kol was the first one out the door. Bonnie frowned at his speed but shrugged it off. Kol Mikaelson was none of her business. No reason for her to get involved with him at any level.

“Hey!” Elena fell in step with her as they left the classroom. Bonnie gave her a polite smile in return.

“Did Kol say why he was here?”

“He said he was trying something new, whatever the hell that means,” they stopped at the witch’s locker. “Today has been weird in general.”

“I can’t imagine he’s here to actually experience high-school like Rebekah,” the doppelganger wrinkled her nose. “There must be some ulterior motive.”

“I don’t know. There probably is. We probably won’t have to wait long until we know what it is either,” she closed the locker and faced her friend. “Plans for the weekend?”

“Oh, well…Damon wants to take me on a romantic getaway somewhere. It’s a surprise so he won’t tell me,” she smiled tentatively. The viridian-eyed witch forced a smile.

“Sounds nice.”

“You don’t have to lie Bon. I know you don’t approve,” she sighed sadly. “I wish I knew what to do to make things better with all of us. Caroline won’t speak to me, my brother can’t even look at me and Stefan practically left town without telling us where he was going because he can’t stand being around us. Have you heard from him?”

“I haven’t,” she lied as sincerely as possible. “Maybe you should give him time to come around. He’s really upset, from what Caroline’s told me.”

Elena’s eyes started to shine over, a telltale sign of tears.

“But don’t worry about Stefan. I’m sure once he’s gotten over it he’ll be back,” she said quickly. Despite the rift in their friendship, she hated to see her best friend upset.

“Yeah, hopefully,” she sighed as they started walking to the entrance of the school. “I know it’s going to take him a long time to forgive me, if he ever does.”

“If he doesn’t, then you’ll just have to move on,” she said softly. She was bothered that Elena seemed more concerned with earning Stefan’s forgiveness than Jeremy’s or that of her friend’s. In her opinion, they all should’ve come before him, but it further highlighted how much vampirism had changed her best friend.

“Bon!” she heard Caroline call behind them. Elena tensed for a moment before turning around. The perky blonde greeted the doppelganger with a smile Bonnie knew was as fake as her acrylic nails. Elena’s smile was no better, though it looked more apologetic than anything else.

“Hey Lena.”

“Hey Care,” she smiled timidly. “How’s Tyler dealing?”

“He’s…doing the best he can. We’re actually going to get him right now,” her smile was straining. “See you Monday.”

“Alright. Bye Bon,” Elena waved. The witch waved back, noticing the sad air that seemed to surround her as she watched them take off for the parking lot and she felt guilty at blatantly leaving her out.

“How did she seem?” Caroline asked once they were by their cars. “Did she say anything about this morning?”

“Nah,” she waved the question off. “What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to get Tyler and drag him out the house so we can get the rest of the food before we get up there. I told Stefan to start barbequing during last period and Matt’s going to get some food from The Grill. It’s going to be a relaxing, drama-free weekend,” she bit her lip. “And maybe you and Jeremy and Stefan can convince him to stay up there until Klaus decides he doesn’t want to kill him anymore.”

“That’s not going to happen Care,” Bonnie said softly. “We have to kill him as soon as possible.”

“I know. I’m working on a plan,” she sighed. Bonnie waited for her to elaborate and frowned when she didn’t.

“What’s your plan?”

She shook her head with a smile, “Don’t worry Bon. I’ll keep him from hurting Tyler or you or anyone else. I know what makes him tick.”

The witch frowned. She knew Caroline, and she knew how much she loved Tyler, to the point where she would do anything to protect him. They would kill and die for each other; Bonnie knew this and she knew that Klaus knew it too. She shivered at what Caroline would do to keep Tyler safe, and what Klaus could make her do if he knew she was desperate enough. But Bonnie was just as desperate to not let her do anything stupid that got her in trouble.

“Let’s not worry about that right now. We have a barbeque to get to!” she clapped her hands. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“See you,” Bonnie hugged her tightly before letting her go. She watched her get into her black Jetta and take off in the direction of Tyler’s mansion. Her eyes caught Kol’s, which were staring at her from across the parking lot, and she felt shivers go down her spine when he gave her a look similar to that of one in the hallway just before class. That look weirded her out but intrigued her simultaneously and she hated herself for it. He was Klaus’ younger brother, an Original vampire and a killer. For all she knew, they were all plotting ways to destroy them and their lives. There was nothing to be intrigued about.

She threw her bag into the passenger seat, climbed into her Prius, and drove out of the parking lot much faster than she should have.

* * *

When Jeremy’s eyes fluttered open, it was mid-afternoon and he was sprawled on his bed. He peeled his drool covered cheek from his pillow and winced as he wiped it away with the end of his blanket. Groaning, he forced himself to sit up and adjust his eyes to the bright sun shining through his bedroom window. His head still pounded in pain, his memory hazy, but he was certain he passed out on the floor, having given up on making it to his bed, which meant someone put him there and the only other person that was here was Stefan. But Jeremy was just as certain that he hadn’t put him in his bed because _why would he_ and stopped thinking about it.

His stomach grumbled and rolled when the smell of barbeque wafted to the second floor from downstairs. Multiple voices indicated that everyone else was back from school. Dragging himself out of bed, he put on a fresh shirt and slowly descended the stairs, pausing when he saw Bonnie and Matt cooking in the kitchen. The smell of barbeque was coming from the backyard and he caught sight of Stefan standing over their rusty grill.

“Hey!” the witch grinned as he collapsed at the dining room table. “You look…refreshed.”

“I feel like shit,” Jeremy groaned as he head hit the table with a low thump. “Never again.”

“Caroline and Tyler are bringing you tomato juice and 7-up from the store right now,” she giggled.

“Why in the hell did you think you could beat a vampire at a drinking contest?” Matt laughed as he brought a steaming plate of boiled corn to the table.

“I realized after the fifteenth shot that it was pretty much pointless. Or maybe it was the sixteenth.”

“It was the fourteenth, actually,” Stefan chuckled as he came back inside. “You fell off the chair by the sixteenth while promising to stake Damon’s balls.”

Jeremy glared at him as the others laughed, “Don’t remind me.”

“When I came up later I found you in the middle of the floor, so I put you on your bed. I figured you had suffered enough.”

So Stefan _did_ put him in bed. That was…nice of him.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to,” he said hesitantly. The vampire shrugged and grabbed a large plate from the cabinet to take outside. He came back moments later with a pile of freshly grilled and seasoned meat that made Jeremy’s stomach rumble.

Caroline and Tyler arrived with plastic bags full of groceries and three packs of beer ten minutes later. The hybrid offered to help Stefan in the backyard while Caroline joined Matt and Bonnie in the kitchen and Jeremy sat at the table, sipping on 7-up and tomato juice in separate glasses and praying his dizziness and nausea away. Despite being hung-over, he couldn’t help but feel happy that his friends were there, making the most of their Friday night by spending it with each other. He felt a pang of sadness and anger bubbling in his stomach when he noticed his sister’s absence and wished, not for the first time, that she didn’t have to turn into a vampire.

He was immensely bothered that she didn’t seem to regret her actions, that she was happy with the way things were between them. He hated that Damon was seemingly more important than him when he’d done nothing but bring them misery. For as long as he could remember, he’d always been the outcast among his peers but Elena never treated him that way. She had his back and, until Stefan and Damon appeared, she was his best friend, confidant and protector. Her choosing to pursue a relationship with the man that killed him made no sense to him and he didn’t want to understand it, even if she was his only family left. This didn’t change him wanting his sister back and for everything to return as it was before, when Damon was the one that everyone was against.

“I think we needed this,” Caroline started once all the food had been set out and everyone had a cup of something in their hands as they sat at the table. “We needed a break from the crazy and the supernatural and the…well, everything.”

“There’s enough room for you all to stay up here,” Jeremy reminded them as they piled food onto their plates. “Mystic Falls is a shitty place to live right now.”

Tyler snorted in agreement as he drank his beer.

“Maybe that’s not a bad idea,” Caroline said, her eyes darting in Tyler’s direction. “I wouldn’t mind coming up here every weekend either.”

“And we wouldn’t have to deal with Damon…or Klaus,” Matt ventured as he caught onto Caroline’s plan. “I’d be game. Would you Ty?”

All eyes fell on the hybrid that was boring holes into his untouched plate of food.

“I don’t know,” he sighed as he took another swig of beer. “I guess coming up here is better than being down there right now.”

“Maybe after the funeral you should come. I can cover for you for school. They’ll understand,” Caroline squeezed his hand on the table. “I think that would be the best option for you Ty.”

“But not for you,” he murmured. “He can find me no matter where I go. But if I leave Mystic Falls, he’ll never leave you alone.”

“I can handle him,” she cupped his neck, her nails lightly scratching his nape. “Don’t worry about me Ty. We’re taking care of you now, okay?”

The corners of his lips pulled upward in the ghost of a smile, one that had been noticeably, and understandably, absent in the past few weeks. He removed her hand from his neck and kissed the back of it before cupping it to his face and kissing her palm.

“We can protect you up here Ty,” Bonnie gave him a small smile. “I’m going to ask Shane to teach me some protection spells tomorrow. We can put them over the house and over ourselves if we can.”

“It’s gonna take more than magic to stop him from killing me,” he chuckled ruefully. “I turned his hybrids against him. I betrayed him. People who betray Klaus only end up dead.”

“Not you,” Caroline scowled fiercely. “I won’t let you die for helping _your_ pack gain their freedom!”

“And I won’t let any of you die because you’re helping me!” he retorted, fixing each of them with his intense gaze. “I _can’t_ lose you guys too. You’re all I have left.”

“Then we need to come up with a solid plan,” Matt concluded. He looked to Stefan, “You’ve been around Klaus before. You know how he works.”

“Even if he had any weaknesses, we’d be putting Tyler and the rest of us at risk because we’re linked to him through our bloodline,” the brooding vampire reminded softly. “The best plan would be for Bonnie to repeat the spell to immobilize him like before and drop him in the ocean.”

“Or maybe there’s a spell that can unlink you all from his bloodline,” the witch said slowly, an idea forming in her head. “If it was possible, we _could_ kill him.”

“What’s the likelihood that you could unlink them? And how dangerous can a spell like that be?” Jeremy shot her a pointed look. “I know you’re powerful Bonnie but everyone has a limit, even you.”

“It shouldn’t be that dark of magic. At least not as much as creating an original line of vampires,” she gave him a warm smile. “I appreciate the concern Jer, but I think I can handle it.”

The hunter wanted to protest more but he forced himself to smile instead. He wouldn’t ruin tonight, their time to relax, by starting another argument about her potentially dangerous powers.

“Don’t let Klaus ruin tonight or the rest of this weekend. As of right now, his name is not allowed to be spoken unless he shows up,” Bonnie said after a beat of silence. “We’re going to figure this out together, but not right now.”

“She’s right. As of right now, that asshole no longer exists,” Caroline said firmly. It was easier said than done to forget about the all-powerful hybrid, but they would certainly all try to.

A slightly tense and awkward silence took over the table before Stefan, surprisingly, broke it by asking Caroline about prom planning, which the bubbly blonde was all too happy to explain. Jeremy found it amusing that he would ask, but admired him for steering their conversation away from dark topics. Looking around the table, he realized that it was the first time in a while that he felt as ease, despite being in a room with vampires, a witch and a hybrid. It didn’t matter what species his friends became because they were still here, unlike his sister who ran off with his murderer. He shook his head, refusing to let Damon or Elena ruin his night.

He caught Bonnie’s eye out the corner of his and smiled. She flushed when she gave him one back and it made his stomach bubble with anticipation. If he was lucky, she would still harbor _some_ feelings for him. He remembered Stefan’s words from the previous night and he wondered if maybe, just maybe, there could still be hope for them. She was the first one, besides Anna, that he could really see himself loving forever.

When dinner was over and dishes were cleaned and put away they moved to the living room to play board games Caroline brought from her house. He made sure to put himself by Bonnie and felt giddy when their knees touched and their fingers occasionally brushed. He could tell by her shy smiles and the way she bit her lip that she was giddy too and it filled him with even more hope. Maybe tomorrow, or next week sometime after Tyler’s mother’s funeral they could discuss if there was a possible future for their relationship. He wanted to know where he stood and she with him.

“Stefan, you cheater!” Caroline slapped the laughing vampire’s arm as he moved the metal dog past the jail space of the Monopoly board and went to Pacific Avenue instead. Monopoly soon turned into an all-out war with game pieces, plastic houses and money flying everywhere and making a mess of the living room. They were all brought out of their laugher by a pressing knock on the door.

“I got it,” Jeremy chuckled as he untangled from Matt and Tyler and opened the wooden door. His smile disappeared when he stared back at Elena, a hesitant smile on her face.

“Hey Jer,” she said softly. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

“Hey,” he said stiffly as he stared at the car warily and caught sight of Damon’s smirk.

“I just wanted to check on you. I didn’t see you at school and you wouldn’t answer the phone…but I guess you were busy,” she sighed. “I was just worried about you.”

“Well don’t be. I’m fine.”

She sighed sadly, “How long are you going to keep shutting me out like this?”

“How long are you going to be with Damon?” he shot back. When she didn’t answer he snorted, “That’s what I thought.”

“I wouldn’t be with him if there wasn’t something good I saw in him, you _know_ that,” she said desperately. “I’m not asking you to forgive him or to be best friends with him, but just to respect that I’m in love with him. I’m not a different person Jer, I’m just with someone new.”

“You’re claiming to be in love with the man that killed me, the man that you said you hated for doing just that, along with the other horrible things he’s done,” he glowered. “There’s no point in having this argument again Elena. You’ve made your decision and you’re clearly not changing your mind no matter how many times we talk about it. You know where I stand on Damon, and that’s not going to change either.”

“I know. I just…I wish things were different,” she brought a hand to her eyes and wiped away the tears that were welling in them. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your night. I didn’t mean to keep you.”

She turned away from him and started back to the car. Jeremy cursed himself for feeling bad and called her name again. She turned around quickly, almost expectantly, and watched as he approached her.

“You’re still my sister and I still love you. But you have to understand why I can’t be around you if you’re with him,” he sighed. “He broke my neck because you rejected him. He killed me because of something that had nothing to do with me, just like he’s done to everyone else. He has no regard for anyone but you and I’ll never be alright with that. But I am glad that you found someone that makes you happy.”

Elena looked as if she wanted to protest his words, but she merely gave him a small smile and squeezed his arm, “Thank you.”

“Have fun on your road trip,” he said as sincerely as possible. The smile on Elena’s face told him she was grateful to hear it. He waited until she was in the car and it was gone from the dirt road before going back inside the house. Stefan gave him a curious look when he walked in but he ignored it and joined the others in front of the flat-screen television that sat above the roaring fire for a movie. He smiled slightly when Bonnie purposefully lay next to him and took it as a good sign, especially with the way Caroline was giving them a knowing smirk.

Nearly halfway through everyone had fallen asleep except for him and Stefan who was slowly nursing a beer at the table. Bonnie was snoring lightly as she pressed against his side and while he was happy for her warmth and closeness, he was bored of the movie and too hot and antsy to fall asleep. He slid from between her and Matt and grabbed the last beer from the fridge. Using the edge of the counter, he popped the cap off before joining the brooding vampire at the table.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked the vampire hunter. He nodded as he took a swallow of the bitter drink.

“Me either.”

“Do you even need sleep?”

“Not really. But we still like to do it,” he shrugged. “At least I do. I loved sleeping when I was human.”

Jeremy sat up slightly, his interest now peaked. He’d always wondered what the Salvatores were like as humans, mainly if Damon was as ruthless of a bastard as he was now. Elena said he wasn’t and he might’ve believed her if he hadn’t snapped his neck. Stefan had never intrigued him too much because he was constantly glued to Elena’s side and he was always brooding. He wondered what kind of person he was now that he wasn’t attached to his sister.

“Do you ever miss it?”

“Being human?”

Jeremy nodded.

“Yes,” he sighed. “Becoming immortal is definitely not something I would choose a second time.”

“It’s that bad?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t be under different circumstances…if I had better people that I was spending eternity with,” he sighed. “But I have Damon for a brother and Katherine for a maker. Then I had Klaus and Rebekah. Not the best role models,” he chuckled wryly. Jeremy hummed in agreement.

“When you put it like that, I wouldn’t want to be immortal either.”

Stefan’s brow furrowed, “I thought it interested you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…when you found out about Anna and she gave you a vial of her blood…I thought it was so you could become a vampire.”

A pang of sadness hit Jeremy when he remembered his suicide attempt. He’d been so incredibly messed up back then it was a wonder he survived it. A part of him couldn’t help but be grateful that drinking her blood hadn’t worked, for he could only imagine how much worse his depression would’ve been as a vampire with heightened emotions. He remembered Stefan coming to check on him and being too lost in his grief and anger to thank him for making sure that he wasn’t dead. It may have only been because he was the brother of the girl he was dating, but Jeremy appreciated him doing it all the same.

“Sorry,” the brooding vampire muttered, and Jeremy realized he took too long to answer. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“It’s fine. I was trying to become a vampire. I was just thinking that I was glad it didn’t work because I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I was so hurt because of Anna and Damon talked about being able to turn off your emotions and that’s all I wanted to do. I just didn’t want to feel anything.”

“It’s not great. You’re numb to pain and hurt but you’re also numb to happiness too,” Stefan said softly. He recalled his time with Klaus, how empty he felt and how no amount of blood could satisfy it. It was nice for the time, but he knew he would’ve preferred to keep his humanity on and feel everything than feel nothing.

“At that time…I never thought I’d be happy again. It’s better now but…I’d just lost so much I didn’t know what to do,” he took another swig of his beer. “I know you only probably did it because Elena asked you to, but thanks for checking on me that day.”

“It wasn’t just because she asked,” the vampire said sincerely. “If it wasn’t for me and Damon, a lot of things wouldn’t have happened to you or to anyone else. It was the least I could do.”

Jeremy smiled, “I appreciate that.”

They sat in silence for a moment, listening to _Avatar_ playing in the background. Stefan couldn’t help but wish he could do like Jake Sully and take off for another planet and start completely over, away from Damon and Elena and the heartache and humiliation they put him through. He couldn’t help but wonder what he did to possibly deserve this, to have his brother promise to destroy his life over a woman that manipulated them 150 years ago and to fulfil that promise over and over and over. Why Damon hadn’t been content with accepting that Katherine had played them both was beyond him, but he supposed he should stop trying to understand. Damon was never going to stop hurting him and he needed to stop hoping that things between them would get better.

“If you don’t mind me asking…why did you come back to Mystic Falls when you could’ve gone anywhere else?”

The vampire sighed as he took another swallow of beer.

“I missed it. I wanted to see Zach too but…Mystic Falls has always been my home,” he said wistfully. “No matter how many things have happened…I keep feeling like this place isn’t done with me yet. Like there’s more I have to do before I can let it go.”

“No one ever really let’s go of their home,” Jeremy shrugged. “I know I want to get the hell out of here as soon as I can, but I know I’ll probably miss it when I’m gone too.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere. I just don’t want to be around vampires…no offense.”

“None taken.”

“I don’t want to stay in the town where I’m known as Jeremy Gilbert, the emo druggie loner that lost his parents. I don’t want to be in the same place that my parents, my uncle, my aunt and two of my girlfriends died, or where my sister turned into…what she is now, or where so many other things have happened,” he sighed miserably. “I just want a fresh start. You’re lucky you get that opportunity.”

Stefan watched him silently as he downed more than half of his beer. He felt sorry for Jeremy, knowing all too well what it was like to feel so alone. He’d had it rough ever since his parents died, possibly even beforehand from the sounds of it. It made him appreciate the good memories that he did have of his hometown and the fact that he could leave whenever he wanted.

“You’ll get your chance Jeremy,” he said softly as he finished his beer and set the bottle gently on the table. “It might not seem like it now but you will. You’ll get to do everything and anything you want to do and you’ll find a new place, a better place, to call your home.”

“I doubt it, but I appreciate the positivity. You have to have money to leave,” he sighed sadly. “Compulsion is one of the perks of being a vampire I wish I had.”

Stefan didn’t know why, but he suddenly wanted to extend Jeremy the offer to leave with him when he left Mystic Falls for good. Jeremy deserved a lot more than he’d been given and he wanted to do something to make-up for it, especially for taking Vicki away from him. Perhaps extending an invitation was a bit much, but now that he had time on his hands while Bonnie learned the memory spell, he was sure there was something he could do to improve Jeremy’s life. He was compelled by his eternal guilt and his empathy for his situation, but there was something deeper that made him want to help Jeremy, not because he was Elena’s little brother, but because he deserved a good life. Perhaps if he could help him find some inner peace, he could find some of his own.

They sat in silence for the rest of the movie, then Jeremy bid Stefan good-night and re-joined the others curled together on the floor. Stefan couldn’t help but smile at how innocent and happy they looked and it made him long for people he could call close friends. He had Caroline already, and he was fine around Bonnie and Jeremy but he didn’t know them as well. A part of him wished he did. Now, more than anything, he wanted friends to lean on the way they all leaned on each other. And watching them didn’t make him feel left out or lonely. They had allowed him to stay when they could’ve dismissed him. They allowed him to participate instead of turning him away. Whether or not it was out of pity, he didn’t care. He was grateful to them for allowing him in despite their every reason not to.

He threw away his and Jeremy’s bottles and made himself comfortable on the couch. Tyler’s mumbling about werewolves and mermaids playing basketball made him chuckle just before he fell asleep with the hint of a smile on his face.


End file.
